


All in on a pair of Queens

by LuciusIII (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Poker, Smoking, but first they fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25110091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/LuciusIII
Summary: A poker game turns to a smoke break, which turns into a fight about a wasted year
Relationships: Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	All in on a pair of Queens

“Flush beats three of a kind, spoils go to Sirius.” With a grunt, James complied with Remus’s command and shoved the pile of candy in the middle of the table towards Sirius. The latter just grinned; James had taught the whole group the rules of poker, so he couldn’t stand losing to his friends – especially to Sirius, who made a point of being an ass about it every round James didn’t win. All five players – yes, five: Sirius had convinced Lily, Dorcas, and Marlene to play as well – returned their hands to Remus, the dealer for the evening. Remus didn’t like gambling, but he liked mathematics, so dealing cards was a favourite way of his to spend time with his friends when they played cards to unwind.

“Do, you’re the small blind,” Remus began another round. “James, that makes you big blind.” Dorcas’s head swivelled at the mention of her name. She had been balancing a Bertie Botts bean on her nose ever since she folded last round. She saw Remus putting down the community cards face-down and patiently waited for the round to start while everyone stared at her.

“Why’s everyone looking at me?”

“You’re the small blind.” Remus answered.

“Right… What does that entail again? Do I match Marlene’s bet? Or increase it?” No one at the table had betted yet, but observable facts hadn’t stopped Dorcas’s conclusions before. Remus rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed slightly.

“No, that’s big blind. Small blind puts down the starting bet.” Dorcas put the bean that had just fallen from her nose in the middle of the table.

“Not that one! We all saw you drop it on the floor a minute ago!” Sirius protested. Dorcas turned to Remus with an offended look on her face.

“I’ll allow it,” Remus responded. James began muttering in protest, but Sirius interrupted before he could say anything:

“Stay out of it, James, you’re not going to win it anyway.”

“Yeah James, my bean is none of your business!” Dorcas laughed.

“And it is his business?” James gestured at Sirius with a questioning look directed towards Dorcas.

“Oh, good times!” Sirius exclaimed, looking up dramatically as if he were in a stage play. “Good times indeed,” he continued, “when I was entitled to Do’s bean!” Lily smacked him on his back in Dorcas’s defence.

“Behave, Sirius! And don’t go blowing your own horn, I happen to know you weren’t as good at bean-related activities as you are at poker.” James and Remus burst out laughing. Marlene sighed and stood up.

“I’m going out for a smoke, play a round without me.” Remus nodded and took her cards back. Marlene had been a bit quiet all evening; this was the first time she’d spoken since a few rounds ago.

“I’ll come with you,” Dorcas said, also standing up. “Same goes for me, Moony.” She tossed her hand of cards towards Remus’s side of the table.

“You’ve already bet, Do,” Remus replied. “If you walk away now, you forfeit your bet for this round.”

“Oh, sure. Give the bean to Sirius so he can practice” she said laughingly. As she followed Marlene to the balcony, she heard Sirius defending his skills in bean-related activities, stating loudly that he didn’t need practice at all.

* * *

Marlene took out a cigarette from her case and put it in her mouth, lighting the tip with a small flame from her wand while protecting it from the wind with her free hand. She breathed out a cloud of smoke over the railing, looking down at the courtyard of the school below. Without looking, she held out the case of cigarettes to Dorcas behind her.

“No thanks, I quit smoking.” Dorcas replied. Marlene didn’t lift her head.

“Oh? When did that happen?”

“Last week, James caught me out of breath at training and I realized it was the cigs. Shit’s bad for you, Marls.” Marlene hummed, as if she agreed, before taking another puff and letting the smoke flow out through her nose. Hogwarts rules technically forbade smoking, but the teachers had stopped enforcing the rule when students had turned to experimenting with homemade spells to mask the scent and smoke. Madam Pomfrey had promptly decided that she’d rather treat a few asthma attacks than a whole legion of students who had accidentally made their cigarettes explode in their faces.

Dorcas sat on the railing with her back facing the edge, her feet hooked around the carved stone posts of the balustrade. She looked at Marlene – who had not looked at her for the entire evening as far as she knew – and tried to form a sentence, but couldn’t find the proper words.

“You don’t have to come out with me if you’re not gonna smoke, Do.”

“I never came out here to smoke with you.” Dorcas fidgeted with the lowest button of her quidditch jacket.

“What?” Marlene turned her gaze towards Dorcas, confused by what she had just said. “We used to smoke together like every day, what are you on about?” Dorcas didn’t look back at her.

“I never came out here to smoke with you, I came out here to be with you.” They were both quiet for a minute.

“Oh. Thanks, I guess.” Marlene turned her head away again.

“What’s going on with you, Marls?”

“Hm?”

“All day you’ve been quiet – hell, you haven’t been yourself in a week.” Marlene didn’t reply. Dorcas sighed. “Look – if you don’t wanna talk about it, just say so, but it feels like there’s something wrong.” Neither of them spoke for a while. Marlene lit another cigarette.

“I don’t know if I want to talk.”

“Well, I’m here if you do. And you know I’m not smart enough to take legilimency like you, so you’ll have to use your words.” Marlene chuckled slightly. Legilimancy was not taught at Hogwarts, being considered a form of malicious magic, but she did take an extra credit class in occlumency. Dorcas had often confused the two, and it had become an in-joke between the two of them.

“It’s good to hear you laugh.”

“It’s good to laugh.” They were quiet again. It was Dorcas who broke the silence after a while.

“Wanna head back inside?”

“Not really. You can go if you want.” Marlene rested her head on the hand with her cigarette in it, her elbow leaning on the railing.

“Nah, I’ll stay with you. Got to be there for my girl, you know?” Dorcas laughed and playfully punched Marlene in the shoulder.

“Don’t, Dorcas.” Marlene didn’t laugh.

“Oh, sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No – well, yes, but it’s not about you punching me.” Dorcas was visibly confused.

“What’s it about then?”

“Stop calling me your girl.”

“Wh-”

“In fact, Do, stop leaning on me on the couch, stop winking at me in the hallways and stop asking me to be your date to parties as a joke.” Marlene had turned around and Dorcas could see a tear running down her cheek.

“I don’t- But-”

“What?” Marlene raised her voice slightly.

“I thought we were friends, Marls.” Dorcas’s voice cracked slightly. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

“Fuck you, Dorcas.” Both of Marlene’s cheeks glistened with tears now. “You thought we were friends? You don’t get to lead me on for a year and then decide we’re just friends.”

“Lead you on? I never- I mean I-”

“You never meant to?” She paused. “I was so fucking happy when you got with Sirius, because I thought I wouldn’t have to waste another night crying over you.” She sniffed. “But you guys broke up, and I came out to you because I was naïve and stupid, and you played me like a fucking fiddle.”

“I don’t get it,” Dorcas cried. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s been a year, Do. A year since I came out to you and started trying to get you to notice me. Last week marked the official anniversary and I decided I’m done. I’m done with your friendship if it means you getting my hopes up and letting me down again. I’m done letting you string me along, Dorcas.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “The only question I have left is why. Why, Do? Why not just tell me no and be done with it?” Dorcas’s mouth hung wide open.

“Because I’m in love with you, you fucking idiot.” Dorcas jumped down from the fence to face Marlene. Now it was Marlene’s turn to be completely dumbfounded.

“You’re- Wh-”

“Why do you think I broke up with Sirius? Because you made me realize I like girls!”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because you told me you weren’t attracted to me when you came out!”

“That’s just something people say when they come out!” Had someone been watching from inside, they would have seen the two of them yelling at each other with tears streaming down their faces. The balcony doors had been hexed with a silencing charm, though, so the people finishing up their game of poker at the table inside did not hear a thing.

“So you do like me then?” Dorcas yelled at the top of her lungs, seeming more frustrated by the fight than relieved by the good news.

“Of course I do!” Marlene shouted back, equally worked up and seemingly angry. “You’re fucking gorgeous, why wouldn’t I?” They stopped yelling and stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Dorcas swallowed and scraped her throat.

“Where does this leave us, Marls?” Her voice was quiet now, but she sounded no less upset. No, not upset; Dorcas almost sounded scared, like someone about to receive bad news.

“I don’t know, Do.” Marlene chuckled a bit. “How about you call me your girl again, but you mean it this time?” She sniffled and let out a small laugh. Dorcas returned a smile and wiped her eyes with the cuff of her jacket sleeve.

“D- Do you mean you want to-” The words couldn’t find their way out of her throat.

“Oh shut up and kiss me, Do,” Marlene cut in, stepping forward and softly pressing her lips against Dorcas’s. It was a soft kiss, but a lively one; their lips interlocked and they stood there for what felt like minutes, first not moving at all, then both of them – Marlene first, followed by a cautious but increasingly comforted Dorcas – slowly leaning into the kiss.

“That was nice,” Dorcas said quietly, when they finally pulled back a bit and could look each other in the eyes again. Marlene hummed in agreement. They were embracing; Dorcas’s hands had found their way onto Marlene’s lower back, Marlene’s were on Dorcas’s neck.

“I’m a bit cold,” Marlene said, “Could I have your jacket for a bit?” Marlene was in fact wearing her own jacket, a leather one, which kept her at a very nice temperature.

“This one?” Dorcas looked down at her varsity quidditch jacket. “But your aesthetic? And it’s not even that cold out so I don’t-” Marlene smiled at her silently. “Oh.” Dorcas realized the request for her jacket had very little to do with temperature. “Of course you can wear it. Anything for my girl.” She began to take off her jacket and Marlene met her with a quick peck on the lips.

“Thanks, babe.” The jacket was a little big for Marlene, but she didn’t mind. It was warm, and it smelled of Dorcas, and above all, it was a reminder that things were good now. Marlene stepped away from Dorcas and faced the balcony, lifting two fists into the air. “Woo!” she yelled in glee. Dorcas watched her and smiled, joining her at the balustrade while some student – most likely a confused Ravenclaw – cheered back from the balcony across the courtyard.

“If we work together, do you think we’ll have an advantage over Sirius?” Dorcas put her arm around Marlene’s shoulder, and Marlene rested her head against Dorcas’s neck.

“You really don’t get poker, do you?”

“Not really, no. I just like the candy and the prospect of beating Sirius.” Marlene let out a small giggle.

“Dorcas?”

“Hm?”

“Are we like- you know, girlfriend and girlfriend now? Or are we still just friends?” Dorcas pulled back a bit to look Marlene in the eyes and lifted her eyebrows.

“Would you like to be? My girlfriend, that is?”

“I would. I’d like that a lot.”


End file.
